


Welcome to the Black Parade

by Bookwormscififan



Series: Sanders Sides x Black Parade [5]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Gen, MCR, Negative Self Talk, The Black Parade, Welcome to the Black Parade, feelings of inferiority, my chemical romance - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-20
Updated: 2020-08-20
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:02:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26011585
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bookwormscififan/pseuds/Bookwormscififan
Summary: Virgil reflects on his job, both as a Light Side and as a member of the family
Series: Sanders Sides x Black Parade [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1887901
Kudos: 5





	Welcome to the Black Parade

_When I was a young boy  
My father took me into the city  
To see a marching band  
He said, "Son, when you grow up  
Would you be the savior of the broken  
The beaten and the damned?"_

Virgil made a vow to himself at a young age to always protect Thomas from dangerous Sides.

Specifically Janus, Remus and himself. Anyone potentially dangerous to Thomas should not be allowed in the main mindscape.

_He said, "Will you defeat them?  
Your demons and all the non-believers  
The plans that they have made?  
Because one day I'll leave you"  
A phantom to lead you in the summer  
To join the black parade_

Virgil promised himself that he would keep away from the main mindscape until Thomas was old enough to handle him. He also swore to himself that any Side from his part of the mindscape would be kept away.

He shot down every plan that Janus and Remus had, bolstered the doorway, even resisted the temptation to go into the mindscape himself.

Despite the efforts, Virgil still showed up, ignoring his own rules in favour of feeding his curiosity. The temptation was far too great to resist, and so Virgil’s first recorded appearance ignited his second, and his third, and so on.

_Sometimes I get the feeling she's watching over me  
And other times I feel like I should go  
And through it all, the rise and fall, the bodies in the streets  
And when you're gone we want you all to know_

Being in charge of Thomas’ anxiety also meant he felt the brunt of the role as well. He was paranoid that someone was watching him (namely Janus), to the extent that he packed his things and left the Dark Sides all together. He would never admit that his paranoia was his reason for leaving, because it was honestly just one of the reasons.

Despite his best efforts, Virgil left his family and moved in with the rivals. He did keep a photo of the trio unharmed, hiding it in his pillowcase to look at before going to sleep.

_We'll carry on, we'll carry on  
And though you're dead and gone, believe me  
Your memory will carry on, we'll carry on  
  
_

Dee and Remus kept Virgil’s things. They continued trying to break through the barrier into Thomas’ mindscape until the day they finally made it. After that, it was only a matter of ignoring their anger at Virgil to make impacts on Thomas’ choices.

_And in my heart I can't contain it, the anthem won't explain it_

_A world that sends you reeling from decimated dreams  
Your misery and hate will kill us all  
So paint it black and take it back and let's shout out, loud and clear  
Defiant to the end we hear the call_

Nightmares. That was what Virgil got when he went to sleep. Sometimes they were calm enough to ignore, but other times they were fierce.

Virgil held onto his nightmares in the hopes that they had some connection to the protection of Thomas. The more sleep deprived Virgil was, though, the harder it was to keep the walls up.

Still, he prevailed.

_To carry on, we'll carry on  
And though you're dead and gone, believe me  
Your memory will carry on, we'll carry on_

He hid facts from Thomas, took the side of the others, even pushed him off the wrong path in order to keep Thomas away from the possibility of meeting the Dark Sides.

Unfortunately, his attempts were failures.

_  
And though you're broken and defeated, your weary window marches_

_On and on we carry through the fears (Oh, oh, oh)  
Disappointed faces of your peers (Oh, oh, oh)_

_Take a look at me  
'Cause I could not care at all_

Protection turned to irrationality, fear became paranoia, and Janus showed up all the same.

Roman judged him more harshly, gave him worse names, and went against him. Dee managed to win the argument, smugly responding to Virgil’s statements until he left.

Then, when Virgil was just trying to stop Thomas from bringing Remus into the equation, Roman had to push until the gremlin arrived. It seemed that Virgil hadn’t managed to stop the others from breaking into the main mindscape.

_  
Do or die, you'll never make me  
Because the world will never take my heart  
Go and try, you'll never break me  
We want it all, we want to play this part_

His newest goal was to protect Patton from Remus’ terrible influences, which he did relatively well in.

He even managed to help Patton choose the wedding over the callback. He knew that Roman wanted the callback, but in the long run, Thomas’ friends were the priority, not Alfred Hitchcopalucas.

_I won't explain or say I'm sorry  
I'm unashamed, I'm gonna show my scar  
Give a cheer for all the broken  
Listen here because it's who we are_

So, he wouldn’t explain his thoughts behind helping Patton. It was better to stay out of the post-wedding discussion. He had made a huge admission to Thomas, and it had all ended in tragedy.

He stayed in his room, listening to his music, and feeling broken. He never knew how things could have ended up so horribly.

_I'm just a man, I'm not a hero  
Just a boy who had to sing this song  
I'm just a man, I'm not a hero  
I don't care_

In some ways, Virgil felt less like a saviour and more like a worrier. His point still stood: he could never be a Griffindor.

He didn’t choose this role. It just happened naturally. It was like every Side was dropped into a bucket and chosen at random for the different roles that Thomas needed. And he was chosen for anxiety.

_We'll carry on, we'll carry on  
And though you're dead and gone, believe me  
Your memory will carry on, we'll carry on  
And though you're broken and defeated, your weary window marches_

_Do or die, you'll never make me  
Because the world will never take my heart  
Go and try, you'll never break me  
You want it all  
(We'll carry on) You want to play this part_

_Do or die, you'll never make me  
Because the world will never take my heart  
Go and try, you'll never break me  
(We'll carry) You want it all  
(We'll carry on) You want to play this part_

His only option was to just… carry on. Keep doing what he was doing because it was all he could do. It was all he was able to do.

Steer Thomas in a direction that wouldn’t harm society. Keep Thomas away from harmful ideas and thoughts (specifically, assure Thomas that what Remus suggests is just random thoughts in his head).

Janus could be dealt with by doing what he wants to an extent. Remus would prove more difficult, but if Virgil got a handle on the speech centre to Thomas’ mind, he might be able to stop any embarrassing statements from being said.

All he had to do was his job, and soon he might be able to subdue the Dark Sides.

**Author's Note:**

> I'll be posting more tomorrow, but just... thank you for reading this series and remember to give kudos and comment!


End file.
